Dear Friends:

Anniversaries are a time to reflect on where you have been, but, more importantly, to celebrate where you are going. At AMG, our 25th Anniversary is no exception. We have achieved unquestioned success for our clients over the past quarter century, and it is the great employees who deliver the valuable services we offer who must be thanked. These are the people we rely upon every day to implement association plans, goals and objectives and to overcome any obstacles or challenges encountered along the way.

For 25 years, clients have come to AMG during periods of transition, whether confirming or changing their mission and purpose, trying to better allocate and use their resources, or enhancing the organization’s performance on behalf of members or stakeholders. We take pride in the number of clients we have assisted in achieving their specific goals, including growing their reserves and programs, and even helping them become successful and confident enough to leave us and return to self management.

Client service and satisfaction is at the core of our business as it was 25 years ago when Chuck Rumbarger, AMG’s founder, laid the groundwork for the company’s success. Rumbarger incurred personal debt to fund his vision of how an association management company (AMC) should be structured. An experienced association veteran, he was familiar with the AMC model, but disagreed with the fee structure that others used; he wanted a more client-centered partnership. While many AMCs operate under the fee structure of time and materials contracts, AMG – since its inception – has offered clients the benefits of a fixed fee contract, eliminating hidden costs and demonstrating our knowledge of each client and their needs.

What do all past, present and future clients have in common when they partner with AMG? The potential to be the leading organization in the arena in which they operate, be it trade, professional or certification. Increasingly, associations are being forced to compete with for-profit businesses which opens the door for AMCs to lead the way in helping boards understand best practices and what it means to govern well. Additionally, we constantly examine what the competition is doing to learn what works for AMCs and association leadership and what does not. Likewise, we look inward to ensure that we are serving our clients in the best way possible. One of our current focuses is to ensure AMG’s success for the next 25 years and beyond.

While we plan for a bright and prosperous future, we pause to thank all who have helped AMG become what it is today.  [contents]

Chuck Rumbarger, AMG Founder

Chuck Rumbarger, CAE, founded AMG 25 years ago on May 2, 1982. After leading AMG to a thriving success, Chuck sold the business in 1999 to J. Bruce Wardle, who was senior vice president at the time. Chuck remained involved in AMG for several years and now continues to pursue business ventures and remain active in philanthropic efforts.

Over the course of his nearly 40-year career in association management, Chuck worked with more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations. Chuck has been recognized by the ASAE with their Key Award, the highest honor the organization bestows on association executives in recognition of their exceptional qualities of leadership in their individual businesses, as well as their unwavering commitment to the profession of association management as a whole.

1. How long did you work in associations before founding AMG?
   17 years

2. What was your first job title in the association field?
   Executive director and lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Association of Life Underwriters

3. When you launched AMG, how many associations were clients?  How long after beginning the company did you land your first client?
   AMG was founded without any clients. A month after establishing the company, the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies became our first client.

4. Where was the first AMG office located?
   AMG started off in Georgetown, then moved to Rosslyn, and now is located in Tysons Corner.

5. What was the technology like when AMG first started?
   Electronic typewriters were all we had at first. Then a little later we bought fax machines and a computer. Of course the machines we used back then shouldn’t even be called computers compared to what we have today.

6. What services did AMG offer in the beginning? And how have the services requested by clients changed from then to now?
   I was in consulting for so long that it was natural to offer it as a service and associations needed all management services then as well as now; however, there has been a dramatic evolution in the services required by associations today. With an increase in mergers and consolidations, many associations need restructuring services. There is also a need for electronic communication and support that were never needed in the past. Clients have always asked for our core services such as strategic planning, but now the range is widening as technology needs grow.

7. Why did you pick the name Association Management Group?
   I wanted a name for the company that would explain what it was with no questions. I also liked that the name was in the beginning of the alphabet and would be in the beginning of any directory.

8. What has been your most interesting or favorite client?
   Of the thousands of clients I have served, interestingly enough my very first client, the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies, is the most interesting to me right now. Twenty-five years ago they were a start-up association and our very first client, and now I am acting as their interim executive director. I have seen this client start with a very small budget and grow to what is today a $5 million budget.

9. What is the key to keeping an AMC successful?
   AMCs in the end are all about customer service, so it is all about the people you hire to provide that customer service. Ninety-nine percent of an AMC’s assets walk out the door each night, and it is the responsibility of the AMC to recognize the priceless value of their employees. If you hire great people, you will keep and gain great clients.  [contents]

Special Congratulations

One of AMG’s staff members is celebrating a 25-year anniversary. Ilsa Whittemore, associate executive director for the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), has been working for the association since April 1982.

The only job that Ilsa sought was the first one in her storied association career spanning 37 years.  She began her association work with what is now the American Association for Counseling and Guidance (AACG). Prior to joining the association world, she was a stay-at-home mother of two with an undergraduate degree in journalism from Queens College and a Master’s degree in public law and government from Columbia University. 

Once her children were 10 and 12 years old, she decided to rejoin the workforce. Finding a job was tough after more than a decade at home, but she eventually landed a part-time job with AACG. She proved her mettle at the association, quickly moved to a full-time position, and helped to launch an affiliate organization for the evaluation and accreditation of counseling agencies, the International Association of Counseling Services (IACS), which is still in existence today. When she first entertained thoughts of re-entering the workforce, starting a new association and becoming its executive director was the furthest thing from her mind.  That she was able to do it, with the encouragement of a small but very active board of directors, was just short of a miracle, she says.

Her success in launching IACS and leading the startup for six years was really the jumpstart to her career. Not only did she enjoy her work at IACS, but it is also where she fell in love with association management. It gave her the opportunity to engage in exciting new projects while still handling her core responsibilities, she says.

When the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) decided to offer an evaluation program to its CEO members who wanted an objective look at how well their associations were serving their members, ASAE recruited Ilsa to handle that program, the ASAE Foundation, and other special projects. At ASAE, she reported to industry veteran, Leonard “Buck” Hoyle, CAE, CMP. When he accepted the executive vice president’s position at HSMAI in 1982, he invited her to join him as associate executive director.

At the time, HSMAI had a staff of four, so everyone had to wear many hats. During her tenure with HSMAI, Ilsa has held a variety of positions and had the opportunity to initiate several ongoing programs, including the establishment of the HSMAI Foundation in 1984, and the HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings shows in 1990. She also has served as the editor of the HSMAI Marketing Review since 1983.

What has motivated her to remain with the association for 25 years and counting? “I enjoy what I do, and my talent marries with the needs of the job,” she said. “When you are simpatico with what you do, working becomes fascinating – almost like a paid hobby.”

“Ilsa is an irreplaceable asset. The programs she has touched, or been responsible for, have been designed with our members in mind and have proven to be relevant and sustainable assets for the organization. She has a unique ability to blend design and message in a way that effectively communicates exactly what we want to convey as an association. She can assimilate large amounts of information and creatively package, design and edit it so that the publications and materials she produces not only attract attention but motivate people to act,” said Bob Gilbert, HSMAI president & CEO.

A seasoned association veteran, Ilsa offers this advice to young professionals starting a career in associations: polish your communication skills and learn everything there is to know about the trade or profession you represent. She believes that young graduates or professionals with excellent communication skills have a wonderful opportunity in associations because interacting with members and avoiding miscommunication is critical to an association’s success and sustainability. According to Ilsa, successful association staff members do not have to be members of the profession or trade their associations represent, but they should know the lingo, listen to the members, and be aware of the challenges and opportunities they face.

Ilsa has just been nominated for ASAE’s Women Who Advance Excellence In Associations Award, and winners will be announced this fall.  

AMG congratulates Ilsa and wishes her continued success. [contents]

DBA International (DBAI), formerly headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., joined AMG this past June. A nonprofit trade association serving the debt buying and financial industries, DBAI is led by industry veteran, Roger Knauf. Prior to his current role as DBAI executive director, he started a number of asset recovery companies, including Fourscore Resource Capital, with which he is still involved.

1. When did you first become involved with DBAI?
   I have been involved with DBAI since its inception. I participated in a conceptual meeting in 1997, the year before DBAI was incorporated. Prior to DBAI, I had been in the debt buying business for 30 years.

2. What is your greatest challenge in your role with DBAI?
   We quickly need to build additional products, services, and educational seminars to benefit our members.  We want to help our members grow their businesses and their network of relationships within the debt buying profession so we are constantly assessing new opportunities to promote growth and create value, especially for the smaller firms.  For example, we are trying to develop and create economies of scale for our members such as offering equipment and low-cost insurance programs.

3. What do you find most rewarding about serving as a leader of an association?
   I have many friends in the industry, so it is rewarding to know that our accomplishments at DBAI benefit the industry as a whole and my friends and colleagues. And every day certainly presents a new, interesting challenge.

4. What have been the most significant changes or advancements at DBAI in the past few years?
   The increase of prices and competition in our industry has brought profit margins down, causing members to be more creative.  And, the challenges brought on by legislative changes have resulted in significant changes at DBAI. We are working closely with a lobbying firm to host monthly legislative fly-in days and legislative fundraising luncheons to establish relationships with key legislators who will in turn sponsor bills, or vote favorably on bills, affecting the debt buying industry. By influencing legislation, as well as trying to self-regulate our industry before the government implements standards that will inhibit our business, we are providing value to our members.
   

5. What issues related to DBAI keep you up at night?
   Ensuring that our annual conference in February maintains the same high quality of standards and meets the expectation of DBAI stakeholders established in previous years. Attendance and exhibitors at the conference are critical, but the most important aspect of the conference is ensuring an atmosphere where attendees can establish new debt buying relationships. We’ve been doing this exceptionally well at our previous conferences, and we need to continue to raise the bar.

6. How has DBAI worked to achieve its strategic goals?
   We have an extremely active board of directors who, because of their dual roles as owners and members of associations, provide input, knowledge and creativity to move the association to the next level. In order to better support our board, we are adding additional infrastructure support through AMG and the management services it delivers.

7. If you could offer other association leaders one piece of advice, what would it be?
   Get your membership involved; utilize your staff members’ strengths; think outside of the box in terms of the scope of additional member services and products you can offer; and, if you have not created a strategic plan for your association – it is a must.

8. What are the first items on DBAI’s to-do list upon beginning work with
   AMG?
   Ensuring a smooth transition to AMG; developing a database to more effectively communicate with members; retaining members; and planning our annual conference for February.

9. What do you hope to gain through the partnership with AMG?
   I see AMG as the structure behind the organization that lends assistance on daily administrative tasks and allows me to be a visionary for our future. AMG will also be able to assist us in envisioning and implementing additional sources of revenue, such as educational programs and other services.  [contents]

	Newly installed SIPA President Richard M. Ossoff speaking at the annual conference.

The Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA)’s annual conference reached new heights setting an attendance record with more than 650 attendees. Held June 3-5 at the Mayflower hotel in Washington, D.C., the 31st annual conference marked the installation of a new board of directors, led by new President Richard M. Ossoff, of Strafford Publications, Inc. Each year, SIPA elects a vice president dedicated to a specific area of focus within the association. Last year’s focus was on re-branding; this year’s focus will be on publications. SIPA's new vice president of publications is Andy McLaughlin with PaperClip Communications. He joins Wayne Cooper of Greenhaven Partners also elected vice president. Click here for more about SIPA.

The Washington DC Metro Area Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP/DC) teamed up with the Direct Marketing Association of Washington for the second year in a row to present the Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference. The conference’s festivities highlighted classic combinations, such as a black-tie and red carpet opening night celebration, to underscore the successful partnership between the two groups.

This year’s conference, held July 8-10 at the Hilton Washington, featured international speakers and 15 educational tracks. AFP/DC’s large volunteer base handled numerous details from logistics to signage. Click here for more about AFP/DC.

The Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) concluded this year’s executive member meetings with record attendance at the July meeting in Milwaukee. The day and a half of events included a reception, day of learning, and a plant tour. Attending these special events is a special benefit for executive-level members who can send up to five employees for little or no fee.

Members and board members have offered positive feedback for the new and improved SMRP Web site launched in mid-June. Designed by AMG’s Creative Design, the Web site touts a new member benefit with an exclusive members-only section. The site is more efficient with the membership application and conference registration forms linked directly to ClearVantage. Click here to visit SMRP’s new Web site.

The American Ambulance Association (AAA) held their Summer Healthcare & Reimbursement Conference focusing on Medicare and Medicaid in New York City following steady Congressional activity on the subject. Geared toward medical providers and billers, the conference enabled dialogue with medical law experts, such as AAA Medicare Consultant, David Werfel, Esq. On Saturday, July 21, attendees took part in the conference’s first-ever Medicaid Summit, an interactive discussion on the current situation.

Conference attendees also enjoyed a night out at Yankee Stadium for a good cause. Proceeds from ticket sales to the Yankees/Blue Jays game benefitted AMBUPAC, AAA’s Federal Political Action Committee. Click here for more about AAA.[contents]

AMG works hard to ensure that our clients are properly staffed, moving quickly to find talented staff to fill open positions and meet clients’ needs. AMG’s Creative Design department went less than a month before finding an exceptional new graphic designer; Beth Culver joined Creative Design on May 21.

Beth has assimilated into the AMG culture very quickly and made immediate contributions with great impact. One of her first tasks was the redesign of AMG’s internal Web site to complement the company’s external site. Thanks to Beth, the site is more user-friendly and boasts new content, such as a photo employee directory. Beth has also jumped right into client work, rebuilding the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals’ Web site, creating conference materials for the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), and updating the layout for the RBA Bakers Rack newsletter.

Beth brings almost five years of graphic design experience from her previous position as a senior graphic designer at a design studio in upstate New York. Beth holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, but soon after graduating she realized that she was too creative for programming. She honed her skills on print-based designs at her previous position to complement her web design skills.

Beth is used to working in a small office of five and interacting with clients mostly by phone or email, so she is excited to be at AMG, where she can have daily interactions with so many different people.

Kim Graumann, the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI)’s new Meetings and Events Manager, joins AMG from the association world. Kim has been an association meeting planner for the past four and a half years after starting her career at the Grand Hyatt Washington. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Hospitality and Tourism.

Coming to HSMAI on June 6, Kim became immediately immersed in the association, with their Revenue Management Strategy Conference only three weeks away. Kim handled the logistics for the conference, which was a success with a record 250 attendees. Kim’s latest challenge was studying for, and taking, the Certified Meeting Planner exam at the end of July. She is working on fully acquainting herself with HSMAI and their meetings, as well as finalizing their master calendar for the year.

AMG has expertise in finding qualified staff for all levels of an association. AMG’s executive search capabilities include recruiting and hiring qualified executive directors for internal and external clients. Ongoing internal searches include executive directors for the National Association of Hispanic Publications, Inc. and the World Airline Entertainment Association. [contents]

This spring, members of TeAMG dubbed the AMG Acronym Avengers entered into the team’s second season of recreational co-ed softball. In a show of support and to help project a consistent image, the company purchased jerseys for the team. Each jersey bears the team’s symbol, a name or nickname, and number. The team’s number one supporter, AMG President and CEO, J. Bruce Wardle, was presented with a #1 jersey prior to this season’s first game.

For this team, playing softball is more about camaraderie with co-workers and having fun than winning. The Acronym Avengers were winless last season, but that did not hinder participation this year. In fact, the roster size has increased by three from last season, despite the loss of a few dedicated players.

“We started last season barely able to play, often with only seven or eight people showing up to the field. So far this year, we've been able to field a full team and even substitute players in and out. And even though the team didn't win last year and is 0-4 so far this year, we're content with just going out and having a good time,” said coach Rob Rader. [contents]